In August, Ten Years From Now
by TunaForDesert
Summary: When Aomine woke up the next morning, the object of his suffering for one year was sitting right across the room. Kuroko wanted to fulfill his wish so he could go to heaven. But, the others might not be so cooperative. Especially with hatred, distrust and guilt distancing the once close friends. Anohana AU
1. Chapter 1

_**Summer 2008**_

_Summer of that year was an unforgettable, painful experience for six friends. They made the worst mistake of their lives and lost someone very dear and close to their heart. The lost caused their friendships to break because their beloved friend and anchor was no longer with them to hold them together. It broke their hearts because they knew it was because of their selfishness that drove their friend away from them and untimely met his end._

_Aomine Daiki, affectionately called Dai-chan, Aominecchii and Mine-chin. Akashi Seijuurou, affectionately called Sei-kun, Akashicchii and Aka-chin. Murasakibara Atsushi, affectionately called Mukkun and Murasakibaracchii. Momoi Satsuki, affectionately called Sacchin and Momochii. Kise Ryouta, affectionately called Ki-chan and Kise-chin. Midorima Shintarou, affectionately called Midorin, Midorimacchii and Mido-chin. And lastly, Kuroko Tetsuya, affectionately called Tetsu, Tetsu-kun, Kurokocchii and Kuro-chin._

_They were close friends, almost like siblings. Their tight-knit little circle was because of two things; their mutual love for basketball and Kuroko Tetsuya, their phantom sixth man. They were all gathered in one club, the basketball club of Teiko middle school. Because of their phenomenal talent in the sports, the five, not including the only female in their circle that acted as their manager and their sixth man that went unnoticed by general public most of the time, were known as the Generation of Miracles._

_But, the talent later consumed them. They were dominating in courts, utterly so that no opponents could challenge them. The five began to lost interest in the sports itself, bringing utter devastation to their two friends. It was not horrible at the beginning. They still went to practice and hung out after that. But then, their ace, Aomine Daiki started skipping. Murasakibara and Kise followed not long after._

_Kuroko went to confront their ace about it. They were partners, so Kuroko saw it fit that he was the one to drag Aomine back to practice. Aomine was tired of his pestering. He loved Kuroko like his own brother, but the pale little teen could not feel his pain. What right did he have to tell him what it felt like to be completely helpless?_

_With that in mind, Aomine lashed out without thinking._

"_**SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW A THING! STOP PREACHING YOUR PRETTY WORDS TO ME AND GO AWAY! YOU SAID YOU WANT TO BE LIKE ME?! I WOULD HAPPILY SWITCH WITH YOU! GO AWAY! YOU'RE ANNOYING! DON'T SHOW YOUR FACE HERE EVER AGAIN!"**_

_Aomine only realized what he had said when Kuroko was no longer in his sight. Dread dawned to him as there was only one place he could think of where Kuroko would be. He ran to the gate of their school. He had to apologize. He shouldn't have said those words to his friend. Kuroko was only trying to help him and yet he…_

_He ran without stopping. People avoided him with surprise. The tanned boy was running without seeing who and what he could ran into. It didn't matter. Kuroko was more important. His little, beloved friend deserved an apology._

"_It was horrible."_

"_He's just a kid!"_

"_He's wearing Teiko's uniform, isn't he?"_

"_Poor child. He had so much ahead of him."_

_Aomine abruptly stopped. The women who were walking by stopped as well to look at the teen that was looking at them wildly. Aomine's heart thumped loudly. It couldn't be. It couldn't be what he thought._

"_I'm sorry, can you tell me what happened?" the manner Kuroko had instilled into his brain kicked in automatically._

_The women looked at his unkempt appearance, his Teiko uniform and his panic state. One of them looked at the others with a sad frown before shaking her head in regretfully._

"_Boy, you go straight that street. You would see a huge commotion over there. I am sorry for what happened. The unfortunate boy might be your friend. Go."_

_Aomine's blood ran cold and with a prompt gratitude to the women, he turned around and ran. His vision was blurry. His throat and chest hurt. He prayed to God. He prayed to every deity he knew. He would happily turn back time to-_

_He stopped. He looked down at the pavement and breathed heavily. _

_What could have he done? There was no way to turn back time. It was his fault. It was all __**his**__ fault. He turned around. He should leave. He didn't want to see what damage he could have caused._

_No. He wouldn't be a coward. Kuroko would punch him. With heavy steps, he walked slowly. A few seconds later, almost a minute, he heard and saw the crowd. They were gathered around a vehicle it seemed. Aomine's chest tightened painfully. The sob that he tried to suppress managed to escape. He was perfectly aware of the warm, fearful tears that wet his cheeks._

_He approached the crowd and asked a middle-age man to move so he could reach the middle. He needed to know. He needed to know that it wasn't what he thought it was. It had to be some kind of sick joke God played on him because he hurt his friend. The man took one look at his fearful and tearful face before moving away slowly. He asked the crowd to give way to him. They moved obediently, already knew what to expect as the look on the boy's face was that of a denial one._

"_This is too cruel."_

_A woman's voice said softly and it broke at the end. Aomine saw from the corner of his eyes that the woman had buried her face into the man beside her. Her figure shivered as faint sobs could be heard from her. Aomine forcefully held back his tears and swallowed the heavy lump on his throat. It was too soon; still too soon to make assumptions._

_He could see the end of the sea of crowd. He could see the people who were crouching in the middle of the crowd looked at him and moved. Aomine took a quick glance at their faces. Two men on their early twenties and three elderly men, each of them held regretful and pained expression._

_Aomine wanted to run. It would have been too easy. He should just turn around and run, escaping realities that were now painfully obvious as a mop of blue hair visibly lying on the pavement. The pristine white uniform was tainted with sickly cerise shade that made Aomine wanted to double over and empty his stomach._

_His steps wobbled. It was hard to take another to reach his reality. This was painful. This was a nightmare. Aomine wanted to __**run**__._

_He finally saw the face and he instantly fell to his knees. Sobs raked over his shaky frame as he gently took the bloodied head into his lap. This was not true. This was a nightmare. This was just a bad dream. Aomine never said those hurtful words to his friend and he was not holding Kuroko Tetsuya's bloodied figure._

_The boy cried, cried and cried until a majority of the women in the vicinity shared his tears. A few men turned away to hide theirs and fewer ones openly shed them._

_That summer, they lost a boy called Kuroko Tetsuya._

* * *

"Aomine, wake up."

Aomine Daiki drowsily opened his eyes. He blinked a few times to get better clarity of his vision before he looked up. Momoi Satsuki's cold, rosy eyes bored a glare into him. The tanned boy grunted and stretched lazily. His chair squeaked as his body moved backward more than the required position for him to be perfectly functional again.

"What is it, Momoi?"

"Ueda-sensei needs you in his office. Honestly," she wrinkled her nose in disgust, "If you can't conduct yourself to be a better student, you should just stop coming to school." She turned around, her bag already secured on her. "Useless member of society are not even worth an effort. I wonder why I even bother to talk to you."

Aomine remained placid as she slammed the door of the classroom. He scratched his head idly before picking up his bag. The walk to the office through the eerie hallway was welcomed gratefully. A short break from the glares and sneers always did him good. Perhaps putting more effort into his study was a good idea. It was better than being called by the teacher. He never liked Ueda. The pervert always favored Momoi and watched the girl with hawk-like eyes.

Aomine stopped on his track and shook his head before walking again. He should not involve himself with Momoi. The girl had good reputation in school and being associated with the school's most useless delinquent would damage everything she had worked on. She was better off without him.

XXX

"The girls swimming club pestered us about their locker room. The window backfired on them and after a few days of spying done by me and Natori; we caught a few third years snooping around."

Akashi Seijuurou rubbed his temple and sighed. This was more than he could handle and headache-inducing than his home. Being the student council president was not an easy job, he had known beforehand. But, the entire school seemed to have something against him and was out to eliminate his presence from the Earth by the sheer power of both reports and paperwork combined.

He missed the quiet old days where he spent his lunch break playing shogi and not cooped up in a room where the air conditioner was barely functioning and a mountain of endless paperwork. And idiots without brain, yes, they couldn't be possibly forgotten.

"And now the girls are claiming that you are working together with the third years and wanted to have a fair penalty."

"More or less." Natori, the calm guy with unfashionable glasses, had the nerve to look at him in the eye without even a bit of remorse.

"You _should_ be sorry." Akashi wanted to bury his face to the table and wake up in his bed and know that this was only in his head.

"Why should we?!" Murakami slammed his hands to the table, startling the first year president.

"Midorima-kun was with us?" Natori supplied, hopeful that they wouldn't be punished. His face remained straight as ever, though.

Akashi snapped his eyes open and focused them on the bespectacled second year. "Midorima? What was he doing with you two?"

"Mura-chan more or less dragged the gullible first year into our little adventure." He paused. "He was definitely not happy, though." He added.

Murakami scoffed and waved the remark off. "He needs to loosen up. The frown on his face would be permanent and he would look like a fifty something year old man before he's twenty!" the pale haired teen took a deep breath before continuing. "And it was Natori's idea in the first place! And Midorima was at the right place at the right time so we, as his senpai, should guide him to be youthful!"

Akashi had a feeling that this was the moment where sunset and beach with waves should appear.

"You should know better than to interact with him." He spun in his seat so he faced the windows instead of his seniors. The two friends looked at each other.

"Alright, does this have something to do with what happened between you two in the past?" Murakami sounded resigned. The redhead turned to them with an apologetic smile.

"Unfortunately, yes. As you already know, we are no longer on speaking terms. I suggest you two to do the same. Midorima hates me to the core. He might take it out on you two." He glanced away from the sympathetic gaze his seniors gave him.

"I already asked you this, and I'm going to ask you again." Natori adjusted his glasses. He gave the freshman a mean but considering gaze. "You can talk to us about it and we'll help you. It's not about senior duty anymore. It's about friendship. And I can't bear to see it break in front of me when I can save it. Mura-chan feels the same too."

Akashi gave them a sad smile, "Unfortunately, it can no longer be saved. That opportunity is long gone and I consider this my punishment. Had I been less conceited, everything would have been infinitely better. Everyone would have a better life and-"

"Stop right there." Natori stopped tirade of self-punishment that he knew was coming. "I don't know what the hell happened, but I won't let you take all the blame."

The redhead chuckled warmly as Murakami yelled at Natori about one thing or another. They were idiots, but they were idiots that cared. And Akashi felt ridiculously blessed. He did not deserve this.

XXX

"Kise-chin." Murasakibara Atsushi blinked at the mops of blond that invaded his vision. The said blond looked up. His eyes also blinked as he took in the sight of the familiar giant with purple hair.

"Murasakibara?!" Kise Ryouta screeched in disbelief. He gaped at the taller teen.

"Kise-chin!" Murasakibara repeated before he crushed the blond with a hug that seemed too enthusiastic. "I thought it was just an imagination when I saw you at the entrance ceremony!"

Kise coughed but laughed all the same. "I thought so too! I was gone for a while though, for jobs. But now I'm back!"

Murasakibara's eyes sparkled as he smiled widely at the shorter boy. His teeth were not showing, and Kise felt that made him more endearing.

"Now I'm no longer alone." The giant looked positively on cloud nine at the thought. Kise smiled warmly at his old friend and patted his back. "Yes. From now on, you stick with me. I need someone imposing to chase away the girls."

"Ah," Murasakibara squinted at something at the end of the hallway, "Is that why you were running? Kise-chin is as popular as ever, I see. I'm glad that hasn't change. And I'm glad Kise-chin is still smiling like he used to."

Sensing the ominous direction the conversation was leading to, Kise poked the giant's stomach and grinned. "Speaking of, you're chubbier than the last time I saw you! You really should lay off the sweets."

"Yeah," Murasakibara shrugged. "I haven't done anything strenuous to burn off the calories so they're thickening. Big sister is very worried about me." He pouted as Kise laughed.

"She has a good reason to! Come on, I'll treat you to something healthy. Think of it as our reunion celebration!"

Murasakibara was more than happy to follow the enthusiastic blond. This kind of interaction was wrong. Too faked. Too forced. But it was the best they could do without breaking.

XXX

When Aomine woke up the next morning, the object of his suffering for one year was sitting right across the room. He sat up, stood up, rinsed, washed his face, and went downstairs and straight to the kitchen, all the while being watched by his hallucination.

'_It's summer. It's my hallucination.'_

"Aomine-kun, what are you doing?" it asked as it peered over his shoulder.

"Daiki, make me two scrambled fried eggs, would you?" his father called out from the living room.

"Alright." Aomine called out back his answer and opened the fridge. They had a dozen of eggs, still unopened from the packet. He opened it and took out two. He was not in the mood to eat eggs. He'd make some instant noodles later.

After he fried the eggs and gave it to his old man who was watching television in the living room, he went back to the kitchen and started boiling hot water. He took out a packet of instant noodles and opened it.

"Aomine-kun, you should have boiled eggs with it." Ah, his hallucination was still with him. Aomine ignored it and went to stand in front of the boiling water. After he was done making his breakfast, he went upstairs to his room. He closed and locked the door from inside. His hallucination followed obediently and immediately sat beside his bed. Aomine sat beside it, opened the television and started eating his breakfast. Today was Thursday, he wouldn't go to school.

His father had given up trying to make him go to school when he didn't want to. The old man merely asked him to not get into trouble, and Aomine appreciated it greatly. His relationship with Sa-Momoi had gone straight to drain. There was nobody to talk to in school. Nobody wanted to be close to the dead last, after all. That was okay with him, as long as Momoi did not get into trouble because of him.

"Aomine-kun, why are you ignoring me?"

He ignored it. It was just his hallucination.

"Aomine-kun, it is not polite to ignore people who ask you a question."

"Why are you here?" he finally opened his mouth.

His hallucination went quiet. The only sound in the room was from the anime playing on the television and from how Aomine slurped his instant noodles.

"Sa, I wonder." It answered. Aomine could detect the small smile from its tone. "I wonder why I'm here when I'm supposed to be dead."

Aomine slammed down his empty bowl to the floor and glared at his hallucination. It returned his stare with its deadpan one. He looked into those deep blue eyes, trying to find if this was some kind of cruel joke.

"Aomine-kun," it smiled softly, "You've grown."

Aomine would blame it on his impulse later. He lurched forward and hugged his hallucination for all it worth. He expected it to go in a wisp of smoke, but his body collided with a solid one. The fabric of Teiko uniform that he despised so much felt soft and so real against his arms.

"This is my hallucination. This is not real." He sobbed as a hand patted his back softly.

"It's alright to cry, Aomine-kun."

And right there and then, Aomine cried for the first time in one year.

It was Kuroko Tetsuya's first death anniversary.

XXX

When Aomine finally stopped crying like a little baby, his hallucination was still there, sitting beside him with an indulgent soft smile. Aomine went to the toilet to wash his face and when he came back to his room; his hallucination was still there, flipping the channels using the controller.

"It's Thursday, isn't it? They don't air that show, the one with fake dinosaur, anymore?" it asked idly without taking its eyes from the television. Aomine smiled softly and sat beside it.

"They cut it off one year ago and replaced it with…what's it called again?"

"Hmm…" it put down the controller and settled for an old drama that his mother enjoyed before she left the house screaming and cursing. Aomine did not flinch when his hallucination's head rested against his shoulder. This situation was familiar. And he had missed it terribly.

"Why are you here?" he repeated the question. His hallucination did not answer right away.

"I think…I have an unfinished business here. It's a wish."

"A wish?" he looked down and clear blue eyes looked up at him at the same time.

"Yes, a wish. I have an unfulfilled wish before I died."

"DON'T SAY THAT WORD!" Aomine snapped without further thinking. His hallucination merely watched him calmly before Aomine realized what he had just done, again.

"It is the truth, Aomine-kun. I died, and I'm here for an unfulfilled wish."

"Fine!" he huffed and crossed his arms, his eyes transfixed angrily at the television.

"Then," he spoke again a few seconds of silence later, "What is your wish?"

"I don't know." it answered. Aomine slowly turned to stare at it in disbelief.

"Please help me, Aomine-kun." It rested against his shoulder again. "Help me to realize my wish, so I can go to heaven."

XXX

Never, in Aomine's wildest dream, had he thought that he would step into courts again and hold a basketball. He had asked his father that very afternoon for some cash to buy a new pair of basketball shoes and a basketball. The old man had stared at him in shock before smiling widely and engulfed him in a tight hug. He had given Aomine more than he needed. Not wanting to waste the money, he bought some books. So for the last four days, he had been playing basketball and studying, two things that he seldom do.

And now, Monday, he went to school at seven. He turned up at the gym, where he knew morning practice for basketball club was being held. To understate it, the people there had been shocked out of their skin.

"Aomine Daiki, who would have thought we would be seeing your face here?" the third year, a shrewd one with foxy smile and glasses, drawled as he approached the tanned boy. Aomine turned his face in shame and shoved his applicant to the third year.

"I'm joining. That's enough, isn't it?"

The third year took the paper and hummed thoughtfully as he examined it for the details, "Yes, it is. Though I wonder why the change of heart? Your old teammates had all but abandoned the sports. Why are you, the former ace, here to pick it up again?"

"This has nothing to do with them!" Aomine snapped, startling the people around them. He looked at them before clicking his tongue. "It's a promise to a friend. Besides, since none of them are playing anymore, wouldn't it be advantageous for you to have me?"

"Fine, fine." The senior handed the form to a blond behind him before turning to Aomine with a wide grin. "Well, welcome to Touou's basketball club! We are hoping for a wonderful performance from you."

Two weeks in the club, Aomine's body had been whipped to how it was before he stopped playing altogether, which was only a few months ago. The drills the coach assigned to them were not as torturous as the ones at Teiko, but still enough to make Aomine's body ached every night. His hallucination helped with the ointment though, and his study.

His classmates and teacher had started noticing his continuous presence in the class for the last two weeks and his grades that were starting to improve. Even Momoi gave him a second speculative glance when he answered a particularly hard question. He stopped sleeping in class and his mind was always worrying over the hallucination he left in his room.

He did not want to bring it outside. Outside was dangerous. Cars were everywhere. He wouldn't take a chance if he could help it.

"We have a practice match against Seirin tomorrow. Gather here after classes. Understood?" their coach informed without looking up from the board he was holding. A practice match, he would have a real match tomorrow. A smile tugged at his lips. Imayoshi, their captain and the shrewd one, must have noticed it as he slapped his back.

"There's an opponent there that wouldn't disappoint you." He said cryptically before leaving for the locker room. Aomine scowled before heading to the locker room as well.

That night, he told his hallucination.

"We'll have a practice match tomorrow against Seirin." That part was easy as it nodded and continued sipping the vanilla shake Aomine had gotten it. "Do you want to go?"

It stopped drinking the cold beverage. It stared at him confusedly before asking, "Do you want me to go?"

That's right. It had asked a few times to go outside, but Aomine never allowed. He was afraid, and he still was.

"It's okay. Maybe this is your wish, right?" he smiled sadly. "You might be able to rest in peace after that."

Two arms snaked around him from behind. His hallucination hugged him from the bed as he sat on the floor.

"Thank you, Aomine-kun."

"It's fine." It was not. What if this was its real wish? Would it be gone?

"Say, you never called me by my name anymore, Aomine-kun."

The realization hit him like a truck. Aomine slowly turned to meet that burning gaze. Was he worth it? He was not sure he wanted to say the name and verify this as…as…

"Tetsu."

_Tetsu_ smiled, blinding and happy that he tackled Aomine to the ground. The tanned boy coughed for air before he hugged him back.

"I thought you had forgotten my name." he said softly as Aomine scoffed.

"There's no way I would ever forget, idiot."

XXX

Seirin was a new but formidable school; Imayoshi had briefed him on their way. Their ace, in particular, a returnee from America with aggressive playing style that crushed other players easily was an opponent that only the Generation of Miracles could stop.

Aomine held Tetsu's hand tightly, not letting the boy out of his sight even for a second. Moreover now that he found out that only he could see Tetsu. He had gathered more than few weird stares every time he yelped whenever Tetsu jabbed his ribs for being a mother hen. But it was for his safety, he had argued. Tetsu gave him a blank stare that back in the days, always made Aomine caved to his will, but not now.

Seirin was new. He could see from the pristine white building and new environment without any damage. Their presence practically demanded attention as people from other clubs who were nearby stopped and stared at the foreign students.

Including one, or rather, two people that Aomine knew very well.

"Mine-chin!"

The voice came from a tall, gigantic student who was approaching in rapid speed. Dragged by him, was a blond that had a scowl on his handsome face. Aomine blinked in surprise as he and his team halted in their steps. He tightened his grip around Tetsu's hand. The invisible boy gasped upon seeing the two.

"Mine-chin, what are you doing here?" Murasakibara asked excitedly. Not waiting for an answer, he looked at the company Aomine was in.

"Are? Is this a basketball team, Mine-chin?" the childish tall boy cocked his head to one side, looking genuinely curious. The same could not be said to the blond who was glowering behind him, though.

"Basketball?" he sneered. "And pray tell what might you be possibly doing in such club? Don't tell me you're playing?"

His club members were evidently shocked by the presence of the two and the manner they presented towards the club.

"Yes I am, Kise. I am playing basketball." He answered confidently. Tetsu was trying to escape his grip and that made his hand shook in attempt to not give in. Kise looked down at his shaking hand and scoffed.

"I didn't think you would have the audacity to do so, after what happened. You really are-"

"Maa, maa," Murasakibara cut in as he placed a hand on Kise's shoulder. "Why don't we watch, Kise-chin? I haven't watched a worthwhile match for a while. I'm sure Kagami and Mine-chin's match would be interesting to watch."

Kise turned to the giant with wide eyes, "I don't want to go to the gym! You saw what happened in the class two weeks ago! Kagami was a nightmare! What do you think he would do if we show the slightest interest in basketball!? My answer is definitely no!"

"Mou Kise-chin," Murasakibara grabbed the other's collar and started dragging him away as Aomine and his teammates blinked, "You whine too much. Come, Mine-chin's new teammates, we'll lead you to the gym."

Their eyes were still transfixed in bafflement at the bizarre scene as Imayoshi approached Aomine from behind, "Those were Murasakibara Atsushi and Kise Ryouta, weren't they? So they were Seirin's students all along. We should count ourselves lucky that they didn't team up with Kagami. Imagine what kind of monsters could be unleashed. But, what's with that Kise?"

"Let's go." Aomine adjusted his bag and his grip around Tetsu's wrist. The pale boy had stopped trashing for a while.

When they arrived at the gym, they were greeted with shock stares, mainly because of the presence of Murasakibara and Kise. The latter looked very reluctant to be there as a redhead approached them. Aomine tried his best to stay unseen as long as possible. He had lagged behind a bit during the walk so now he was at the very back. His hold around Tetsu's wrist was still not slackening in the slightest.

He looked down at the boy who was watching the redhead from Seirin with fascination. His own eyes strayed unwillingly to assess the presumed opponent Imayoshi had told him about. Strong, primal instinct, wild and untamed. That was his impression of the redhead who was wearing a jersey with number ten on it.

"Aomine-kun, they're calling you."

Tetsu's voice softly reminded him. Aomine purposely ignored it and instead drew his friend closer. "Can you stay here, alone?" he asked concernedly. He did not want to leave Tetsu, but people would notice his weird behavior sooner than later.

The pale teen smiled at him and patted his arm softly, "Go. I'll be fine. I'll stay close with Kise-kun and Murasakibara-kun."

"Don't wander off to somewhere I can't see you." That thought sickened him more than anything.

"Aomine-kun, you're the only who can see me. I will be here waiting for you."

With that promise, Aomine gave the slim wrist a quick squeeze to ensure that Tetsu would not go anywhere. He gave his friend a long worrying gaze before walking towards Imayoshi who looked very irate.

"Glad to see you're finally joining us." The captain sneered sarcastically before turning a charming smile to the school girl. "Now that we have all our regulars present, please show us the way to the locker room."

The girl sized Aomine up and down. She clearly knew who he was and was trying hard to hide her fascination and questions.

"Aomine Daiki." He answered without being asked. The redhead who was pestering Kise and Murasakibara was suddenly in front of him. His red, wild eyes stared intently into his calm midnight blue ones. Aomine was not ashamed to admit that he was more distracted by the weird eyebrows he possessed.

"Aomine Daiki? The ace of the Generation of Miracles?" he asked with a growl.

Aomine slammed down the urge to chortle to oblivion as he returned the stare with his mundane one. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

Then the redhead grinned, wild, instinctive and excited, "I'm looking forward to your basketball!"

XXX

The game was unlike any other he'd ever participated in. By the end of the match, he was panting and trying to arrange his thoughts as he replayed every move, one-on-one, strategy and attack. Kagami Taiga was an opponent more than worthy to challenge the Generation of Miracles.

When he looked up at the score board, he felt oddly thrilled at the close scores, 101 to Touou and 99 to Seirin. He was well aware that he was laughing maniacally. Kagami came up to him with his wide challenging grin. He returned it good-heartedly, if only because he finally found a worthy opponent that Tetsu had spoken of once upon time.

Remembering the invisible teen, he turned to where Murasakibara and Kise were watching. Tetsu stood slightly behind the two on the left side. His blue eyes met Aomine's and the small happy smile on his friend's face was more than enough for Aomine to give him a wide winning grin before he raised a fist towards Tetsu.

Kise looked at him, dumbstruck before it turned into one of pure hatred. He retreated and walked towards the exit. Aomine would have been fine with it but Kise was going to knock _Tetsu_ over.

"Tetsu!" he called out as he rushed to prevent it. Kise stopped, thankfully, but the look he gave Aomine stopped him at his track. Aomine realized with horror what he just did and he turned to Murasakibara, who was staring at him coldly. Tetsu, who was shocked by the call, was also aware of what kind of trouble Aomine had just dug himself into. He moved swiftly to Aomine's side and watched speculatively at the turn of event.

Aomine swallowed thickly. He had not meant to say the name out loud. There was no doubt that Kise and Murasakibara would label him as a maniac now, calling out to someone who no longer existed.

"Aomine," Kise said his name gravely. Aomine turned to the blond who was slowly approaching him. Murasakibara did not move from his position and instead watched calmly as the people around them, the spectators watched with bated breath.

The blow Kise delivered to his left cheek hurt, a lot. He tasted iron in his mouth and stinging pain on his cheek. Tetsu gasped loudly and stared at Kise with shock. Their audiences were too stunned to make any move to prevent further conflict.

"Don't say that name. You have no right." Kise glared at him. His eyes of gold now salivated with anger and hate that Aomine knew he caused. The blond left swiftly with angry light steps. When he was gone, Murasakibara took his place. Aomine stared up at the calm giant and sighed dejectedly.

"Go on. Be done with it. I know I'm an idiot."

Murasakibara's stare turned colder and when he opened his mouth, Aomine had to hold Tetsu back because he was positively livid at the words Murasakibara spouted spitefully.

"You're an insufferable bastard that does not deserve to stand on the court where _he_ was supposed to. You have no right to smile and laugh when you found an opponent that could relieve you of your boredom when you pushed _him_ away. You have no right whatsoever to be here."

The tall former Center walked away, his face murderous enough to scare anyone away as they scampered.

Murasakibara and Kise left silence in their wake.

"I quit." Aomine announced with voice so thick with emotion.

They were right. He had no right. It was supposed to be Tetsu to be there in the court, playing and smiling. Aomine took those away from him. He had no right to enjoy basketball when Tetsu suffered in silence.

He was a monster, in more than one way.

* * *

End chapter.

**A/N**: Finally done! /sobs/ Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that. I would love to hear your opinion. This is not beta-ed because Sei needs to take care of her grades. I will upload the beta-ed version later. This is nearing 6k words I'm kind of proud of myself. I'm sorry for the lack of updates for my other fics ;_; I didn't post anything for almost a month that was horrible for me. Anyway, I have a Princess Princess AU MidoKuro ready. Just have to wait for Sei to finish beta-ing it. I also finished a short Magi fic featuring cute Aladdin and stalker-ish Judal, also need to wait for Sei. I'm working on a KiyoKuro and the length is monstrous. Monstrous, I tell you, because it's one shot and I kind of put in half of season one and half of season two. That AkaKuro MilkyUke requested needs attention too. And then there's that self-harming Kuroko I need to finish. Eugh I'm so…

Reviews are greatly welcome because I haven't received anything sweet for almost a month so I'm kind of review-depraved at the moment. You wouldn't mind sparring a few minutes for me, would you? :)

* * *

黒子のバスケ © Fujimaki Tadatoshi


	2. Chapter 2

_Aomine dreamed often. It started appearing at nights two months after the incident. The dreams showed different kind of scenes every time and it never had a specific timeline. In those dreams, he was a worse asshole to Tetsu than he was right now, not including the incident._

_Tetsu stayed with them until the last championship match against a school he never heard of. In that dream, Aomine almost relished in the horrible feeling of loneliness because it felt like a price for what he made Tetsu went through. But then he realized he did not even worth of forgiveness so he stopped._

_It gradually became worse when Tetsu turned in his resignation letter but dream Aomine was too lost in his own pathetic pain that he did not seek out his best friend. High school came and Aomine's heart ached soundly in nostalgia as dream Satsuki yelled after him to come to practice._

_Aomine did not know what to feel as dream Tetsu's new light beat him in an even match. It was never clear, the faces that he encountered in high school in that wonderful illusionary dream where Tetsu could held basketball and made wonderful tricks that left him breathless. The only faces he could see belonged to his former friends._

_He did not know every single detail there was in the dreams. But, he saw and always remembered Tetsu's smiling and content face clearly because it shined brighter than a sun. He never saw him with smile that wide it made Aomine wanted to run to him and ask him where they went wrong._

_Morning always came accompanied by unpleasant feelings of wanting to skip school, curled up in his blanket and mourn the morning away. His old man was aware of these 'nightmares' he had as company at nights, and the old man believed in Aomine more than in his own wife that someday his son would come around._

* * *

When Akashi Seijuurou was offered scholarship and captaincy by Rakuzan, he refused. His last match against Meikou with his former teammates was just another meaningless one that he did not even remember the faces of the ones he fought against. But, he remembered the broken sobs and by the time he turned around to see just who else he had broken, the Meikou regulars had turned away, their hunched backs facing him.

Akashi was aware of his irrational obsession with winning. He had been aware of the dreamy gaze Kuroko sent them when he thought nobody was looking at him. He ignored it, and went by his day normally. He was aware of the wary gaze Midorima shot him once in a while. He was probably the closest to know his deepest and darkest secret.

Akashi found a friend in Midorima, and trusted him enough to watch his back.

Midorima never trusted him.

He had once loved basketball enough to ignore his father's order to come home early one night for a dinner with another influential family. That night was one of their earliest matches with Kuroko. He had been playing with a smile and everyone else was cheering them on. Aomine's excited grin lit fire in himself. Midorima's perfect shot motivated him to be better with his maneuvering. Murasakibara's half-hearted block elicited fond sigh from him. And Kuroko's determination made him felt smaller because he knew Kuroko loved basketball more than the four of them combined.

When Kise came along, he just fell into place. It was hard at first, trying to separate Kise from Kuroko because most of the times, the blond hindered the perfect harmony between Kuroko and Aomine. When Kise found out the partnership between the two, he had been in awe because he could see what a devastatingly perfect pair they made. It certainly did not stop him from asking to be Kuroko's light, though.

They were the only people, along with Momoi; he had felt true friendship with. Midorima had been the closest. Murasakibara came next, but he was more like an overgrown little brother that he had to babysit. Kuroko came third, with his silence and small knowing smile whenever Akashi felt annoyance bubbling up inside of him as he dealt with the headache that came along with being the captain of more than a hundred club members. Momoi was fourth. Aomine and Kise were pretty much on the same level, because he could not see the way they think.

They had been his first friends, all the same.

When Aomine gave him a call that one summer day where practice had just been a tad bearable with ragged breathing and shaky voice, Akashi had abandoned a meeting with other club captains before sending texts to Momoi, Kise, Midorima and Murasakibara to come to the hospital.

Everything went downhill without braking starting from that day.

XXX

"And that's the last of those!" Murakami Hiro announced as he dumped a brown box on top of another one. Natori Shima peeked over his shoulder and nodded.

"Good. I don't think I can bear to watch another batch of those. What the hell did the previous presidents do, letting those reports lying around unorganized in the storage room? We're lucky Aka-chan hadn't had a chance to take a look since he's busy with meetings, paperwork and charity work. I can just imagine him channeling Levi-heichou and start cleaning up the place all by himself."

"Ah right," Murakami carted off the boxes out of the office as Natori fell into step a little behind him, "Today he has to help the baseball club. The ace pitcher from 2-C had an accident yesterday but it's nothing serious. Just a mild sprain on his leg and he'll be back in action next week. Akashi's just filling in for today since they're up against a notable team from Niishi High, even if it's only a practice match and five innings."

"Only five?" Natori cocked his head to side, "Well, I guess he'll be back in about half an hour. Let's hurry up with this errand and get him something to replenish his energy with when he gets back."

"But seriously," Murakami groaned distastefully as he shot a glare at the boxes, "What's up with our seniors? They shouldn't have left this and expect us newbies to deal with it!"

Natori only shrugged and opened the emergency exit. Murakami tilted the cart so it could land on the ground without hitting the doorsills. They both made their way to the dumping area, where the trashes would be picked up by the end of the day.

"Yato is not back yet, is he?" the bespectacled sophomore asked softly. Murakami halted in his task of lifting the boxes and looked down.

"He'll be okay. That guy won't give up that easily."

"We haven't seen him in a long time. I wonder if he's eating right. He has that habit of forgetting to take his meals and ended up passing out somewhere."

"I said," Murakami grunted as he dumped the last and largest box to the ground, "He'll be fine! He said he'll come back, didn't he? He may be slothful most of the times, but he won't ever forget a promise! Now, let's go and get something from the cafeteria so Akashi would have energy to do paperwork later."

"Let's not get him Pocari though. I never knew someone could be high of that drink." Natori had a thoughtful look on his face as Murakami shuddered.

"He consumed those drinks like water two weeks ago! Let's not talk about it, please."

Natori shrugged and hurried after his pale friend to the cafeteria.

"Aka-chan's always working hard, isn't he?"

When they were back at the Student Council's office, Murakami put the beverages for the three of them in the mini-fridge at the left corner of Akashi's desk. The colorful _mochi_ served on the plate was wrapped neatly so they won't be dirtied before Akashi arrived. They had arranged Akashi's table. The paperwork was organized and separated by big dark clips. On top of each batch of the papers were notes with their due dates. It usually helped Akashi to not panic when he found an unsigned due paperwork or a missing batch of it.

His pens had been confirmed to be full. The last time Akashi ran out of ink, the redhead had to go all the way to a convenient store five blocks away and when he was back, the gate had been closed and his stuffs along with homework given that day were still in the office. The next day had not been pleasant for the hardworking president.

"You heard what he said. He will be the best president this school has ever seen," Murakami gave a smirk at his friend. Natori stared at the largest desk in the room.

"You know, I did research on him. He's the heir of the Akashi group, a former captain of the best basketball team ever there and the best student with perfect grades. What did he come to Shuutoku for? We don't have the best academic prestige. The only thing he could be here for is our basketball club, which is one of the strongest in the area."

"Maybe he was waiting for a showdown with Midorima so they could make up?"

The nonchalant answer earned Murakami a dark look.

"Sorry I'm late."

The two sophomores turned to the door, where a fatigued looking Akashi was standing as he shrugged off his gakuran. The freshman sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh.

"We won, even though it was only due to luck," he looked satisfied, but something akin to anguish entered his eyes before it disappeared without a trace.

They had learned to ignore that look, so Murakami grinned and reached out to his junior's red locks, "Good job, president!"

Natori stood up to grab the drink. He placed the drink before Akashi and the redhead thanked him quietly as he opened it.

"Aka-chan, you don't look good." Natori observed, prompting Murakami to lose his smile and turned to Akashi to see if Natori was right. Indeed, Akashi's already pale skin was a few shades lighter, bags under his eyes and his hands trembled as he held the can.

The redhead swatted the hand on his head and sighed, "I'm okay. This month had been stressful."

"You look perfectly fine this morning," Murakami growled, "And it can't be because you're tired from the game."

Akashi stiffened.

"Aka-chan…is there something you want to talk about?" Natori tried a gentler approach.

Akashi stood up and made a beeline to his desk, his face shuttered and voice cold but weariness cloaked his figure like a second skin, "There is nothing to talk about. If you two have time to idle around, go help the tennis club because I don't want you here when I deal with paperwork."

XXX

"Why are the esteemed members of Student Council being reduced into some charity workers?"

Natori watched his friend grumbled emphatically. They were on their way to the tennis courts in a slow pace. They had not been briefed about what they needed to do, as Akashi locked them out of the office before they could ask.

"Mura-chan…" he called out to his friend and halted in his steps. Murakami turned around and frowned at the sad look Natori's face. The last time he made that face…

"Aka-chan has been exerting himself even more for the past two weeks. And we can't do anything to help him except making everything just a bit easier for him."

Murakami ruffled his wild brown locks. His hand trailed down to finger the two identical earrings on his left ear. He looked at the matching ones on Natori's right ear, although barely seen because of the long dark tresses that went pass his ears.

"Let's ask Midorima."

Natori looked up, his shock visible through his glasses. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Murakami grinned.

XXX

Finding Midorima was never a hard task. The two second years frequented the library for errands from Akashi, since the redhead abhorred the place like it violated him in every way possible. On the contrary, Midorima was part of the library committee, loved books and cared for them more than anything else.

It had taken Murakami and Natori approximately three months to be suspicious of the two, after accidentally walking in on Midorima fisting a handful of Akashi's front shirt, expression murderous enough to send them out of the student council office without a word.

Of course, Midorima kept a tight lip about everything, vehemently denying his relation with Akashi and even going as far as to say that he did not know him prior to that incident. And of course, that was a lie that only a hippopotamus would believe. The two did not dare to ask Akashi, since the redhead always overworked himself and asking about something that was obviously sensitive was just too mean, even for them.

A few days later, after awkwardly trying to act normal around Akashi and since their president was always that all-knowing kind of guy, he nonchalantly dropped the bomb to them.

'_He's a former teammate from middle school. We've known each other since first year so that's about three years.'_

And that was it. No more further information was given and the two writhed in desperation to know, if only because Midorima hated Akashi with the passion of a thousand burning suns while Akashi, in spite of acting indifferent to Midorima's apparent disgust of him, drowned himself with work because of guilt that could send any sane man into a pit of insanity.

Murakami and Natori approached the both of them in a different way. Murakami always found an excuse to somehow dragged both Midorima and Akashi in something. In contrast, Natori tried to be the helpful senior by lending an ear whenever the two were troubled. It never worked so far.

Murakami opened the door of the library rudely, immediately earning him glares that were now customary whenever they were around. He had tact less than how many hairs a naked rat had on its body. Natori only sighed, wiggling his fingers to a scandalous looking Midorima behind the counter.

"Yo, we came to ask you something," Murakami grinned.

The freshman sputtered silently, exiting the librarian's safe haven with less grace than usual and pushed Murakami out of the door when he was within reach. Natori stepped aside, watching emphatically as Midorima closed the door quietly behind him.

"What do you want this time?" he hissed before crossing his arms irately. Impressive, but he looked like a kitten compared to Akashi on some of his worst days.

"Explanation, about Akashi."

Again, no tact at all. Natori refrained from performing a roundhouse kick to Murakami's head. It would be more troublesome if the idiot lost more screws.

"We want to know why he is acting unlike himself lately," which translated to 'what happened between you two?'

Midorima's irritation disappeared, replaced with a look of shock. Natori exchanged glances with Murakami. When they looked back at the taller first year, the rare display of something as close as emotional they could get from Midorima Shintarou was gone.

The freshman huffed and crossed his arms, looking down at them haughtily, "And that's my problem how?"

Murakami rolled his eyes, irritation seeping into his voice as he answered, "I don't care if it's your problem or not, which it clearly should be. We just want to know what happened recently that made him acting like a father with one wife and ten kids. He's self-destructing, if you don't get it."

"Self-destructing?" Midorima looked confused, and even concerned, if their eyes were still working properly, in sockets and all. But it disappeared as soon as it appeared. Somehow, it reminded them of Akashi, who hid beneath his cold exterior when he felt that they were encroaching too deep into a past that he rather forgot.

"Yes, self-destructing," Natori decided this was the best time to intervene, before Murakami pissed Midorima even more and left, "We always knew he's a very hardworking person. However, he's been burying himself with more work since two weeks ago. We want to know if there's something that happened on that day."

Midorima regarded them with cold, distance eyes. He had uncrossed his hands, but he looked even more unreachable now.

"I fail to see how that concerned you two," he spat, "Let him be. He'll come to you if he wants to. You two are too nosy for your own good. Someday, you're going to have to deal with something beyond you and when you found out the things that happened in the past, where would you be then? Akashi is a two-headed snake. He lies and deceits. He betrays and abandons. He's not a leader. He's an even worse friend."

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!"

Murakami slammed Midorima to the door in rage. Midorima's face reddened in anger immediately.

"AND YOU SHOULD MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! I KNOW AKASHI BETTER THAN YOU SO DON'T TRY TO TELL ME OTHERWISE! I'VE SEEN WHAT HE'D DO FOR THE SAKE OF VICTORY! HE'S AN EGOISTICAL BASTARD! A SELFISH BRAT WHO ONLY CARES ABOUT WINNING!"

"Murakami, stop it!" Natori hissed. Heads poked out of classrooms now. There were curious stares and amused smiles. They were attracting too much attention and it would be just a matter of seconds before somebody knocked on the student council office's door and informed Akashi of this dispute.

"BUT YOU FUCKING CARE, YOU BASTARD!" Murakami roared back, a hand clutching Midorima's gakuran tightly until the knuckles turned white, "YOU FUCKING CARE EVEN WHEN YOU SAY YOU HATED HIM! I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED BUT IF YOU DON'T GO TO HIM AND TALK OUT YOUR ISSUES RIGHT NOW, I'LL MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL! HE'S KILLING HIMSELF AND YOU TELL US TO SIT BACK AND WAIT?! UNLIKE YOU WE'RE NOT SELF-CENTERED AND WE DO KNOW HOW TO CARE ABOUT OUR FRIEND!"

There was silence followed.

"The last time he called someone a friend," Midorima whispered now, but anger still not lessened, it intensified, "He let _him_ walked into his death."

Natori's eyes widened. Murakami's words died on his throat as he stumbled back, freeing Midorima of the choking hold. He looked at the freshman with pale face.

"What do you mean?" he choked out.

Midorima's breathing came out ragged, like it had taken everything of him to say the last sentence. He straightened up and looked at them dead in the eyes, and the anguish in them stunned the two. Midorima, the aloof and unruffled freshman, the victim of Murakami's constant teasing, bared himself before them.

'_God,'_ Natori lamented inside his mind, suddenly sickened by whatever happened that sent both Midorima and Akashi into this state, _'What the hell actually happened?'_

"He's not who you think he is," the pain in Midorima's voice was raw. "He's a monster beneath that skin. You don't know anything."

XXX

The very person Natori was worrying about of finding out had long gone leaving Shuutoku after he locked out his two seniors.

Akashi walked through the busy street of Tokyo without any particular direction in mind. He was too tired, both physically and mentally. He did not know what he was thinking, when he accepted the request from the baseball club. Maybe it was their hopeful faces. Or even the rush of nostalgia that clobbered his mind painfully at the same time it gripped his heart until he could not breathe properly for a moment.

He knew he was not in a fit condition to play. He could have just asked Murakami to do it. But he did not.

Perhaps he was delirious at that moment; too wrapped up in old memories to even make a proper calculation.

If his father saw what he had become today, what would he be thinking? The perfect son he had groomed to be his perfect heir was now reduced into a simple commoner with no particular exceptional achievement. Not that it mattered anymore. The moment he stepped out of the despised but loved Akashi household, his father had all but cut all the ties between them.

Akashi was too engrossed with his inner world that he did not notice the looming figure ahead of him until they crashed against each other. The force was not enough to send them both to the ground, fortunately. Akashi rubbed his forehead where it took the most impact of the collision before looking up at the bespectacled teen in black jacket. Looking further behind him, was what looked like a whole team of a sport club.

"Oops, sorry there, wasn't looking where I was goin'. Are you alright?"

The Kansai accent was thick in the stranger's speech. Akashi only nodded before stepping to the side slightly, ready to make his escape but the stranger stopped him in his track with one simple question.

"You're Akashi Seijuurou, aren't you?"

Narrowing his eyes, Akashi inspected the bunch. His eyes found themselves latched onto their bags.

"Touou?"

The bespectacled teen grinned wider, "Yes. Touou's basketball club, to be more specific. You remember me? I was there with coach to recruit Aomine."

There was no question about that 'where'. Teiko. Akashi looked at the taller teen in front of him, and vaguely remembered a short conversation that he would rather not recall.

"Yes, Imayoshi Shouichi, wasn't it?

'_That was a brutal match you played on the finals.'_

'_Who are you?'_

'_Imayoshi Shouichi. Anyway, that match was spectacular. You really went all out, didn't you?'_

'_What are you trying to say?'_

Imayoshi's grin turned darker, "I'm glad you remember me. Our conversation was cut short, wasn't it? All because Aomine turned us down."

Akashi remembered his former teammate; face shuttered and pained as he walked away from the classroom where the supposed meeting with the coach of Touou was held. Both he and Imayoshi were just outside of it, but Aomine did not spare them a glance. Probably was even unaware of their presence.

"Did you know? Aomine came to us two weeks ago and joined our club?"

It felt like a slap. Akashi looked up with shocked eyes, "What?"

"But that was cut short too," Imayoshi sounded bitter as he scoffed, "Your other former teammates, Murasakibara and Kise turned out to be Seirin's students. And they were there to watch the practice match between Touou and Seirin. I don't know what happened, but it seemed that somebody named 'Tetsu' was involved. Aomine quitted."

That was to be expected. Akashi's eyes narrowed, his hold on the sling of his bag tightened, "Why are you telling me this? It has nothing to do with me anymore. I'm no longer their captain."

Akashi made a move to walk away, but Imayoshi held a hand up, "Ah, wait. I know it's got 'nothing to do with you anymore', but I think you should at least talk to Aomine. He looked as if he's ready to jump off a bridge."

If Akashi was a lesser man, he would have walked away and swallowed his guilt along with the want to help a friend out. But, he was not. And he knew Aomine did not deserve whatever Murasakibara and Kise did to him. After all, wasn't it Akashi who groomed him to be what he used to be until-

"Where is he?"

XXX

With his already fatigued body and wavering heart, Akashi reached the bridge where Imayoshi told him Aomine would be later than he liked. If there was anybody alive who he felt the most guilt for, it would be Aomine. Was he even the right person to go to Aomine at this moment? The tanned teen would probably spit in his face and walked away.

Nonetheless, he had to at least try. His resolution almost crumbled when he saw the hunched figure of his former teammate on the bridge, the settling orange sun illuminating his face from the side that Akashi could not make out his face from where he was standing. It had been months since they last saw each other. How was he? How were the others? Kise? Murasakibara? Momoi?

"Aomine…" he managed to strangle out in between air intakes. His stamina had decreased upsettingly over the past months.

The tall figure of his former teammate straightened up, and Akashi could finally make out the outline of his face. Aomine had grown taller. His previously short hair was now long enough to be tied into a small pony tail. It was still not comparable to Murasakibara's long hair, but close enough that Akashi almost did not recognize him. Thinking back, the last time he saw Aomine, his hair already reached the base of his neck.

"Akashi?" Aomine sounded incredulous.

A smile crossed Akashi's lips. Yes, it was Aomine.

"What are you doing here?" the taller teen approached him. Akashi straightened up and took one long inhale before turning his red eyes to asses Aomine once again. He was wearing the same uniform as the rest of the Touou players he encountered, but the jacket was missing from his body as it was tied around his waist. And…were those hoops on both of his ears?

Akashi almost could not believe the sight in front of him as he blinked. Sure, Aomine acted rude most of the times, but he was pretty sure he was _not_ a delinquent material. Shaking his head out of the new discovery, he looked up.

"Your captain told me what happened. Or at least what he saw."

Aomine scoffed, back to leaning against the railings while looking up at the darkening sky.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about. He sent you here?"

"No, I came on my own. You're…playing basketball," the last part was hard to choke out.

"Yeah…" Aomine looked like he was not even talking to Akashi, "It's painful though. To play without _him_. And Kise and Murasakibara were there. At Seirin, I mean. They knocked some sense into me."

He shook his head, "They don't know what they're talking about. You should not quit."

Aomine fell silent. Akashi watched the flickers of emotion in those dark midnight eyes. Once in a while, Aomine's brows scrunched up, as if internally arguing with himself. Akashi waited patiently, until the taller teen turned to him with an exaggerated mocking smile.

"Do you know why I played again?"

"You love basketball. You could never quit," Akashi was sure that was the answer, but Aomine merely scoffed.

"Part of the reason, yeah. But, there's another factor, you know. A bigger one that will blow your mind."

"Are you going to tell me what?"

"If it's up to me, I wouldn't want to tell anyone," he grimaced, "Because people would start calling me nuts- ouch, Tetsu! What was that for?!"

Akashi watched in confusion. Aomine was arguing with air, from his point of view. Aomine was arguing with thin _air_. His former teammate couldn't be possibly that deep end, could he? The slip of name, however, prompted him to break Aomine from the one-sided argument.

"What did you say?"

As if remembering his presence, Aomine turned to him with wide eyes. Akashi narrowed his own and crossed his hands, silently asking for an explanation. The taller teen was acting way too fishy for Akashi to ignore. It mattered little to him that moment that Aomine was possibly crazy.

The tanned teen scratched the back of his head, "Aw man, this is going to be suck. Okay, listen, and don't freak out."

Akashi's left eyebrow rose.

"So uh, you know that two weeks ago was the anniversary, right?"

The anniversary, yes.

At Akashi's silence, Aomine continued, still looking unsure, "There was uhm, something weird that happened to me that day. I mean, everything was okay. I went to sleep the night before and there was the usual dream. So, the next morning I woke up, this uhm, this happened!"

Aomine pointed at the spot beside him. Akashi's right eyebrow rose to join the left one.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Tetsu!" Aomine sputtered, "Tetsu is here!"

"…what?" Akashi choked out.

_Whatishesayinghe'sdeadKuroko'sdeadKuroko'sdeadwhatishetryingtosay-_

"Tetsu is here," Aomine's voice decreased in volume, his eyes fell onto the ground beside his feet as he refused to meet Akashi's eyes.

"Kuroko Tetsuya is haunting me."

XXX

"_We tried what we could. He was barely hanging there when he arrived…"_

"_Out with it."_

_The young doctor with smoothly swept back black hair regarded the adolescents in front of him. Eyes closed in resignation, he delivered the news, "He's gone."_

_He let the anticipated wail of anguish from the only girl in the group washed over him. It was his job, but that never made it any easier._

"_You're lying."_

_The redhead in front of him shook uncontrollably. The doctor only watched calmly, not even flinching when those small hands rose to clutch his coat. The redhead looked up, eyes of gold and crimson staring into the pitch black ones in utter madness and what could be the beginning of tears that would not stop for years to come._

"_YOU'RE LYING!"_

"_AKASHI!"_

"_AKA-CHIN!"_

_CRASH!_

_Silence. Then, a broken sob, followed by a hollow whisper._

"…_you're lying…"_

* * *

End chapter.

**A/N**: Thank you for the nice reviews! I originally planned for Mukkun to be the second to know but eh, this happened. Because, yeah, you know. Mukkun, Poppo. But, at this rate, Kise would be Poppo, if you guys catch my drift. He would be the most bitter amongst them all over Kuroko's death. Okay, now I need to figure out how Momoi's going to come around. Aomine with long hair and Akashi in gakuran. Asdfghjkl. What do you guys think of Kagami playing quite a notable role in this fic? Should I or should I not? Unbeta-ed. Yeah, I know my grammar is horrible but bear with it? I need to write something from Kuroko's POV somewhere in the future chapters.

p/s: the timeline of this story is horribly messed up sobs I already fixed the mistake in chapter one. this is one year later after Kuroko's death. and it's about two weeks into autumn. they've been in high school for about half a year.

* * *

黒子のバスケ © Fujimaki Tadatoshi


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